Prevalence of acute diseases in the elderly assisted in emergency department of orthopedics

OBJECTIVE To make an analysis of the care of elderly in an Emergency Department of Orthopedics with the primary objective to know the percentage of elderly treated, their conditions of origin and level of accidental conditions, and examine possible comorbidities, evolution and mortality rate. METHODS Retrospective observational epidemiological study based on survey records of a tertiary hospital during one year (January to December 2006). RESULTS In the year 2006 (January to December) 12,916 calls to patients older than 60 were performed. CONCLUSION Massive attendance of the elderly population was observed, however, the vast majority related to chronic problems that do not require urgent attention. Patients requiring urgent attention suffer from trauma related to falls and are between the seventh and ninth decades of life, mostly female and requiring hospitalization for longer periods. Level of Evidence VI, Cases Series.